The 2008 Whiteadder Floods at Todheugh

The rain water drains at the bottom of our drive had backed up yesterday causing a large puddle by lunchtime. By the afternoon walk it was up to the verge. When Penny came over in the early evening it was starting to get deep and she was worried about getting out again. When we took the dogs out late at night we soon realised by the light of our torches that we were not wading across the verge but were actually walking in the rockery. This was the view this morning...


We escaped via the extremely muddy building site and walked back to see how much of the road was under water...



We then walked down to the path by the river. One of the straw bales from Margaret's field next to the river had made a bid for freedom...


We then walked up to the view point at the top of the hill to see the full extent of the flooded fields.


Margaret's field half under water. I wonder how many straw bales have actually made it all the way out to sea...



The field below Blanerne House had not been harvested. I don't know how much will be able to be salvaged.


I ventured back out after a cup of coffee to try to get to the bridge. I did not even get to the bottom of the drive before the water was up to the top of my wellies. Not deterred I went the back route from behind our garden sheds, via the old quarry coming out on the road just behind Karen's house.

The water stopped at the bottom of the hill so I could make my way around it to the bridge.

The water was over the top of the buttresses. Luckily it did not look as if too much debris had been lodged in the bridge.





It could have been a lot worse - there is quite a log jam in amongst the trees on the submerged island upstream. Of course, these could still free themselves...


View East from the bridge...





View West from the bridge...


The water on the road had receded about a metre when I walked back, but I soon found out that I was not going to be able to wade through it and had to retrace my route via the quarry.


I have repeated the view from an upstairs window for a comparison with yesterday photograph...

Despite the fact that it has been raining most of the morning the water levels are dropping quite quickly. I have just taken the dogs out and the verge is no longer under water, although the road still is but is passable if driving slowly. The field in the top left corner of the above photograph now looks merely puddly, draining rapidly back into the river via a mini waterfall. The straw bale is now high and dry. There is a lot of debris dumped along the other side of the road, ranging from tree trunks to plastic bottles.

Mighty Muddy Whitadder

Four photographs stitched together to create panoramic view.
View from path down to river.


An interesting fish-eye effect with this panoramic view from an upstairs window - the road is actually straight...

Extension Part 15

I was a little stiff yesterday but was still determined to get some more of the bank cleared. The weather, however, had other ideas. I had worked through one light shower but when it started absolutely tipping it down I ran for cover. Alan and Mark also thought better of it and packed up for the day.

Today I did not get back out until about 2 p.m. - my car was being picked up for repairs this morning and my replacement hire car was also being delivered. Then we needed to go shopping. We decided to go to Jewson first to check out paving. We had already decided on Indian sandstone but there are four available colours to choose from. So we have now decided on grey and sand which hopefully will fit nicely with the house, walls and sunroom.

By the time I got outside I was stunned to find that the erection of the retaining wall around the utility room and up to the raised veggie patch-to-be was almost complete. When Alan and Mark cleared up for the day the wall had had its slope completed.

I continued working on the long bank. I had got to the place I wanted to put the very large rock that had been dug out for the foundations, to continue the path near the top. I measured said rock (18"x18"x9") and dug an appropriately sized hole for it. Alan had said he would get it in place for me. So when a truck arrived delivering more bricks he bet the driver that he couldn't pick it up with the grabber and lower it into the hole. It fitted beautifully...

I packed up at about 6.30 p.m. I had not made as much progress as I had hoped for as I came across an area packed with large buried cobble stones. Hopefully I have got them all out now. I find it fascinating that I remove so many stones but the level doesn't seem to get much lower. I have also unearthed another large rock continuing my path, and possibly another one next to it although I won't be sure until I clear all the crud on top of it. The next section is going to be hard work - covered with grass, nettles and ground elder...

Oh, and Alan wanted a link to his website as I gave David a plug in my last entry :)

Extension Part 14

On Friday Alan pegged out the walls and patio based on the plan I had given him, with just a couple of minor changes. Rather than a curved wall down to the new gates-to-be he broke it down into shorter straight sections with angles to roughly follow the road below - this is easier and therefore cheaper.

There has been another change at the back - my plan hadn't taken into account the different levels between the house and the side wall. So now we are having a path around the utility room with a tapering retaining wall on the other side of the path. There will still be a raised veggie patch at the back with steps up to it by the house, but instead of being fully contained by a retaining wall the ground will slope down, hopefully to ground level at around about the sunroom. The raised bed along the side wall is now going to be formed with railway sleepers.

Alan started to dig out the foundations for the walls yesterday. This was continued today up to almost where the main gates will be. Mark has started filling them with cement. We also had a big bonfire to get rid of the uncollected wood, trellis and a self-sown tree.

David from Metal Magic came around this morning at our request to speak to Alan re anything he needs to make life easier in fitting the gates and railings. I suggested pillars where the external wall changes angles to fit the railings between. Also a pillar at the start of the wall to attach the side gate to.

With all the excavations of foundations a lot of very large stones/rocks have been dug out. Alan has been setting them aside for my garden. So, as the weather was good I decided to make a start this morning at about 10.30. I found a series of large stones already embedded in the bank making a mini path. I worked from there back to where the gates/drive will be, clearing the weeds, digging over the ground to remove the larger stones and putting in more rocks to continue the path. I finished at about 5 p.m. - I won't be able to move tomorrow. Paul jokingly asked if Alan would give me a job - yes, certainly for gardening.

We are still waiting to hear back from Tom (joiner)...

BEST Quarter Final

I set off around 11 a.m. allowing plenty of time to get to Laura's, who had very kindly offered to host the match. I decided to fill up with petrol at Morrisons to ensure a stress free trip as I only had a quarter of a tank. What a mistake.

There was a queue into the petrol section as two pumps were coned off and another two were out of action with a fuel tanker blocking them off. But I was sort of committed. Ten minutes later I filled up. Just as I was leaving the two coned off pumps were released and the fuel tanker just beat me out. I was waiting for a gap to pull out of the petrol station when a car that had been parked next to the shop was reversed into me. My stop light then started flashing.

Details were exchanged and I moved my car out of the way. The staff in the shop were very nice and allowed me to use their phone to let Paul know what was happening. Also I was told that they may have the incident on their CCTV cameras which they keep the footage for six weeks. I told Paul I would leave the car for a few minutes as it may just have been overheated from the long wait. If he did not hear back from me I would have continued on my way. Luckily this did indeed appear to have been the problem.

When I arrived at Laura's Stewart was already there having lunch. Laura got me a bowl of soup. Paul had emailed her to let her know I may be late and had sent my insurance details so I could start the ball rolling. So after lunch I phoned the insurers to report the incident.

I was not feeling quite as chilled out as planned when we commenced the match. We agreed to play 5-point penalties. I won the draw to start.

Game 1: I opened with WIGLET and immediately got an extra 5 points. I was never under pressure in this game and won 381-297.

Game 2: My second 5 point gain on move 2 with XYLIC. After a close game Stewart pulled ahead with ESTANCIA and I couldn't pull back the gap. L: 388-415

Game 3:
I opened with BUFFO, (B)LOGS from Stewart and I bonused with LATTInS. (F)IZ from Stewart and I dump J(I)MP from a consonant heavy pickup. Stewart bonused with UN(T)RACES giving me a U to dump the Q. Some heavy scoring from me with LOTAH (40), DUH (36), UVEA (33), TWAY (37) and TAX (47) mean that I am still ahead after Stewart's second bonus dRAI(S)INE. I block the only danger spot of (MIRV)S with OBIED just in time. DESK (57) from Stewart to give him a 4 point lead but I can block his playout RAINE(D) with OTIC to seal the win. He tried a phony to increase my spread. W: 389-349



Game 4:
The interesting point of this game came near the end. With 5 tiles in the bag I played LINEAb(L)E to take a 42 point lead. With about 12 minutes on his clock Stewart held. I had just over 2 minutes left on my clock. Stewart, with full information, kept me held for over 10 minutes while he worked out he could win as long as he did not challenge me. I, on the other hand, had no information whatsover to plan my next move until he eventually played GEY. As it happens I do not think there was anything I could do to win the game, but it did feel a little unfair and maybe this rule needs to be looked at. L: 368-372

Game 5: I got my revenge in this game. I opened with LUREX and bonused with SLOTHED(86+5), dEACONS(69+5 for the hook) and (F)RAULEiN at which point Stewart conceded. W: 409-235

Game 6:
Stewart opened with PHT. I also had a consonant-heavy rack but took the points with ZE(P). WARS from Stewart and I could clear with H(A)MMED. (D)EFILERS (64) from Stewart but (M)EETINGs (90) from me. I kept the margin and when Stewart dumped with TONNE(A)U I bonused with pARANE(T)E - was worried I may have missed a 9x but there isn't one. He conceded a few moves later. W: 391-271

Game 7: I bonused on move 2 with (C)ARNEOUS and again on move 4 with SERENITY. Another concession. W: 361-273

Game 8: We exchanged 68-point bonuses, Stewart opening with RUNDALE and me with ERI(N)GOES. aPHONIA (85) from Stewart on move 4, and EPISOMAL (64+5) in reply from me. Stewart pulled ahead but I closed the gap with SKIDDING. OVERCOaT from Stewart a couple of moves later and I could not close the gap. L: 385-449

It was about 10 p.m. and we decided to stop. A fair amount of red wine and good conversation before we retired for the night - well, actually morning...

Game 9:
I bonused first on move 3 with UNEART(H)S to take a healthy lead but VERTUES from Stewart on move 4 overhauled it after I had picked all consonants. I bonused again on move 7 with DREA(R)IlY. I couldn't, however, cope with Stewart's bonuses on moves 8 (SPITING), 9 (OSTINAT(O)) and 11 (PREE(N)iNG). L: 422-499





Game 10: Stewart opened with QI and I was pleased to spot the playable bonus from AKNORST. Unfortunately Stewart hit straight back with bOBBIES but I could score well with YODE beneath it. He pulled further ahead whilst I was struggling ((R)UELLE from EEELLLU followed by LU(BE)), but then bonused with AVENGER to catch right back up. Not a great pickup (HIIOOTY) but I could play HOOT for 34, keeping back the Y for the ZESTY hook - DIV(V)Y for 52 next go. Another couple of balancing low-scoring moves (GUI(L)D and (T)OO from ADEIOOS) and a pickup of RR to beat Stewart to the bonus spot with ARRIDES. HEP from Stewart and I blocked with PU(R)IM, picking the blank from the bag. I was quite pleased with this win as I felt I had won against the run of the tiles. W: 422-395

Game 11: Stewart bonused on move 2 with MISSPA(C)E for 90, following it immediately with OUT(W)EARy. I pegged him back with PINAFO(R)E and MOTZ(A) (78) two moves later. AERA(T)ION on move 8 from Stewart, picking DAUnERS from the bag was too much for me to contend with. L: 416-446

Game 12: Stewart opened with cASEATE and I responded with ROI(S)TING. MIAUL from Stewart and I had picked 6 vowels and an N, so just dumped OO(R)IE. B(L)ETHER from Stewart which blocked C(A)FTANED from me but I was pretty sure of DEF(E)CANT so was a little put out when it was disallowed - my only phony of the match. XU for 50. I was always playing catchup from that point. I forewent several low scoring bonuses, needing more to win. In the end I was forced to just take the points as tiles and opportunities were running out. L: 420-452

So, match poised at 6-6.

Game 13:
EEEIOSZ, I opened with ZEE and then got SODDIER (72+5!) move 2. TRAM(L)INE move 3, followed by H(E)WN (42), CAJON (44) and BUMF (40) - decided the points were worth it despite holding the Q which I dumped the following move. (F)ORGO to remove the remote danger, followed by GUNKS for 43. HEM/HA from Stewart set up CITY for 60. Stewart wanted to concede at this point and was a little peeved when I said I wanted to play on as there was the possibility of a very high score with both blanks unseen. However, two moves later and Stewart had them both. He got away with the phony s(CAWED) but I didn't really care at that point. UPTRAIN(S) from me. W: 564-379

Game 14:
WUD from Stewart to start and I slotted NONEGOs (72+5) below it. NEUTRI(N)O in reply from Stewart followed two moves later with ADE(N)OIDS. (C)ONTRAST from me on move 6 to take a small lead, followed by FRAIsED two moves later, hooking HERLs which gained me another 5 and a bonus sized lead. OX followed with (B)ESTIARY from Stewart for him to retake the lead. With two in the bag I played WEIL/ZIMBI as there was an S and I unseen and could not afford for Stewart to play there. I needed to either be able to play out or for Stewart to not be able to score enough playing out in two. It was not to be. Stewart could have increased the spread with his playout but decided to make it sound more exciting than it was... L:468-470

Deciding game...

Game 15:
The board got incredibly blocked very quickly. I had ENGAOLS that would not play and took a long time trying to work out what to do. Eventually I played GONE keeping back the A for the hook. Stewart bonused with SEARCED. I was now handed the poisoned chalice. SQUALID. I was tempted with just playing QUI(D)S for 75 but in the end played SQUAIL(E)D for 90. OVErTA(S)K from Stewart for 185. DORAD from me to hope for a high scoring J or Z play but HELMS from Stewart. Two moves later all hope went when he bonused again with the second blank... L:545-377

Many thanks to Laura who put us both up and put up with us both, and kept us fed and watered throughout.

Extension Part 13

While I was away the grey-water drain was dug. I was warned to be careful walking up the path on Monday night...

The piping was then laid on gravel and Craig from building controls came round on Tuesday to check the joints were air tight.

Today the trench has been refilled, so we now have a soil path through the lawn above the pipes.

I spent a lot of time yesterday playing with my Geoff Hamilton 3D Garden Designer coming up with something that fits in with the requirements of lowering the ground level at the back of the house but raising it up at the wall at the back. So, steps at the corner of the house/wall to a large raised vegetable patch with a retaining wall, with a small bed in front of it. Another raised bed along the side wall between us and Margarets, which also does not have very deep foundations. A little more fiddling today when I realised I had not got the sunroom in quite the right position. Alan was quite impressed when I handed over the plan at lunchtime.

This morning the sunroom has been filled with cement, which was then 'polished' this afternoon.

Mark will be back tomorrow to lay another couple of layers of bricks and then the joiners will take over.

BMSC 2008

I got to Allan's at just gone nine on the Friday and we got on the road proper about half an hour later after stopping for a get-well card for one of Allan's neighbours and then for petrol, and a diversion towards Morrison's when Allan was on auto-pilot. We tried a new route - A1, M62, a change of plan around Manchester via M56 before the last stretch on the M6 arriving about six hours later.

I spent the evening clearing my cardbox and then had a couple of drinks in the bar before getting a reasonably early night. Breakfast, followed by more studying and watching the Olympics in my room the following morning before ambling across to the playing area for the main event.

I beat Barry Grossman, who is one of my bogey players, in game 1. I was pleased to spot FURtHEs(T) on a blocked board.

I then came unstuck against Sandie Simonis in game 2.

Phil Appleby in game 3 and I opened with the only bonus from AADNPT?. Phil later blocked my bonus from ADENOSY plus a floating P, but there was still an N available to bonus around. The board was getting blocked when Phil played in ZENAId(A)S in the only available slot to get right back in the game. A neatly slotted H(E)MES for 51 sealed my victory.

I lost a low-scoring battle against Martin Harrison in game 4.

Game 5 against Peter Thomas, who opened with QAT, and I was pleased to spot one of the two possible 7s from ABIILR?. Peter decided on his second move to forgo the easy 7s in favour of NORM(AL)ISE. I bonused again on move 3 with UNEDI(B)LE and I should have bonused again on move 5 but played a phony, getting it right on move 6 from AAILNST. A late bonus of (S)ORBITEs from Peter and we were into an endgame. EGNRRTW and I could play out in 2 with WR(I)T and REN(I)G to win.

Game 6 v David Webb. I changed on my opening rack of no vowels, keeping RS and picked IOSST. David opened with ZEE and I spent a lot of time deciding what to play, eventually opting for OS rather than SOS. RETINAE from David, IR(I)SATES from me as a 4x, following it with EXO(50), VIOLA(T)ER (76) and Qu(I)N (66) which was enough to secure the win.

End of day 1, and 4-2.

A dream game against Ross Mackenzie, who has beaten me more than his fair share of times in the past. I opened with TUTENAG and got three other bonuses in the game (REMA(R)KED, CONGEES and REtAILS after Ross made an opening on a very blocked board).

Game 9 v Paul Allan. Paul spent over 5 minutes on his opening move before exchanging one tile. I had been staring at DIIOOPP and plonked down PIOPIO. Paul held for about 3 minutes before challenging. Another wait and then he just dumped an O. Maybe a new record there of only playing one tile after 10 minutes off the clock. I now had 6 consonants but dumped H(O)LM. Paul bonused with (P)INDAREE. ABODE parallel from me to restricted the 9x. WIZ from Paul for 70, but I hit back with GElATIN parallel to ABODE for 90 to retake the lead. tARTARS from Paul on move 7 from j1d, and I had LORRIES for 65 open up a second 9x but opted for S(NEE)RIER instead for 72 and remove potential disaster from the K. It was now nip-and-tuck to the finishing line. I had mis-tracked somewhere and was I little surprised when Paul played (A)XMEN, thinking the 2 unseen vowels were A and O. However, a quick check and HFF were definitely unseen and nowhere for Paul to play all 3, which was all I needed to ensure victory on countback.

Game 10 v Nick Deller. A new smart Nick Deller in shirt and tie, with fashion statement trainers :) I hit first with a bonus on move 2 (PROETTE). Nick retook the lead on move 4 with UBIE(T)iEs for 82. I could only balance with UTU, but hit back with WOOLIER the following move. Consecutive moves of (C)ZARINA (57), AMNIOTE (65) and FLESH (51) was more than enough to counter Nick's IND(O)RSEE and block a 64-point QI play, letting him have 38 instead.

And then the wheels fell off. I lost the next 5 games without really doing anything wrong. I felt I was especially unlucky against Paloma when playing the Q making an opening onto the triple for a 5 letter word ending in I to be immediately hit with gHAZI for 89!

I took my revenge out on Steve Perry in the following game. He helped out with trying (U)RGENTEr...

And then on Graham Bonham, starting with AMItIES (AtIMIES is the only other bonus) and then ASS(I)EGED for 102. Another two bonuses later in the game to record my biggest win of the tourney, 526-304.

Terry Kirk next and another 500+ score, but Terry had not been slouching either. Even though I bonused on moves 1, 3 and 5 Terry had also bonused on moves 3 and 7. There was a danger spot for a 70+ Z play and I was very relieved when Terry, after a lot of soul-searching, played the Z elsewhere. A late ALIEN(A)TE from me killed the game, his bonus at the end just reducing the spread.

The last round was meant to be king-of-the-hill, but other than the top players was not. I pointed out that all the players on 10 wins were still in the running for the prizes and therefore should also be paired accordingly but this did not happen.

Game 18 v Richard Kennedy. I had got away with a phony (MANCHILD) in a previous meeting and it was still playing on his mind. I pulled out a lead at the start, bonusing on moves 3 and 5 to his bonus on move 4, and maintained this lead throughout the mid game. Nearing the end Richard made an opening which I hit with TWINERS to give myself enough daylight to withstand his bonus near the end.

So, 11-7 and 6th place. Tourney rating 186 and no change to my overall rating.

Allan won his playoff match against Ed to claim the title 20 years on from his last win, and making it four in total.

Thanks to all who worked tirelessly to make the tournament such a success.

I am off tomorrow to Laura's in Sunderland to play my BEST quarterfinal against Stewart Holden. Details will no doubt follow.

Cardbox 9

A major milestone was reached in my zyzzyva cardbox studying today - the number of alphagrams in cardbox 9 (10805) now exceeds cardbox 8 (10798). There are a mere 7686 in total in boxes 0-7.

A new area of study, prompted by Gerry, has been 4-vowel six letter words. I am doing these as straight recall study. I have almost got them under control. As is typical in my first game since doing these I averaged a mere single vowel per rack against Allan in our current best of 25 match and was slaughtered. I did get my revenge in the next three games. Score currently 11-4 in my favour :)

I am also revising (yet again) all the fours before the British Matchplay Scrabble Championship (BMSC) this coming weekend. Better get back to it...

Butterflies and Bees

There had been a scarcity of butterflies this year but this afternoon my garden was filled with them.

The red admirals were very camera shy (I will keep trying) but the peacock butterflies were quite happy to pose for me. Research says that peacock butterflies lay their eggs on nettles so I shouldn't be surprised that there are so many around here...
















They were having to share the buddleias with the bees.

Extension Part 12

Due to popular demand - well, one comment on my last posting here is the latest on the extension.

There was a rain delay on getting the steel frame completed - apparently welding in torrential rain is not a good idea. They were back once the weather improved. One day with lots of measuring and adjustments of the uprights to ensure they were exactly the correct/same height, and then the cross-bars were completed the following day.

Alan was on holiday most of last week, but Mark was here starting on the brick work of the sun room, building it up to what will be floor level.

Coming soon...
The drains should be dug.
The joiner should be coming.

Malaysia Here I Come

I dropped Gerry, Charlotte and Charlie off at the National Express pick up point yesterday morning. They were all quite happy just vegging out most of the time they were here, which is just as well with the weather. Having the Olympics to watch was a plus.

We did go into Edinburgh on Monday - were expecting more going on in the way of street performers as the festival/fringe now on but were disappointed. There was a Cambodian (we think) dance troupe that I found more interesting than my visitors...

We spent a couple of hours walking around and avoiding the showers - a couple of dives into M&S. Charlotte bought a skirt and I am now a hoodie. I am only one size bigger than Charlotte (I wish) - her skirt was a 12 (age)...

I have been waiting to hear what was happening re the UK team for the Causeway Challenge in December. The cut-off date for the ratings qualification was the end of July and I was in 7th place of the qualifiers (five to go) but no invites had been sent to anyone. I sent out an email yesterday to find out what was happening and that set the ball rolling. I found out in the afternoon that I was in the team - there are great advantages to not working...

I had been looking at having a few days in Singapore before the tourney if I made the team to get over the jetlag. However, the costs of hotels in Singapore looked very expensive, and Paul put his foot down at my suggestion of a few nights at Raffles. The tourney itself is in Johor Bahru, just over the causeway from Singapore but doesn't look like a holiday destination.

Gerry suggested that I could fly to Bangkok and stay with him, and then fly on from there with team Thailand. So I have now booked my flight - woohoo :)

Summer Is Here

It rained all day yesterday.
It rained throughout the night.
It is still raining today.
It looks as if it will never stop...

I ventured out to photograph the river, but its true extent was not visible from the garden. The above photo was taken from the bedroom window.
We have our very own water splash at the bottom of the drive.

The builders came yesterday morning and then went away again. I don't blame them.
Surprisingly they are here at the moment, battering away at the new doorway by the sound of it.
The work on the steel frame is at a standstill.

Extension Part 11

Last Monday man with digger arrived and proceeded to create a large moat.

A couple of days later the moat was filled with concrete rather than water.

Today I got back from the dog walk to find Alan and A.N.Other (Mark) waiting for the steel frame to arrive - should have been here first thing. Anyway, it turned up not long after. So today we have had five people here, measuring, erecting steel structure and clearing more of the new doorway. They (or at least some of them) should be back bright and early tomorrow...

Departures and Arrivals

The bats departed the day before Paul got back from the States. Bliss - the first good night's sleep for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately Paul had picked up an air-conditioning cold which meant the bat's chirring was replaced by Paul's snoring.

Penny has returned from her European grand tour. It was strange not having her popping in and not being able to reciprocate on trips into Duns. But we have made up for it since. A couple of visits from her IT consultant (Paul) to try to sort out her laptop/internet connection that was playing up, and she came for lunch on Sunday. I had an appeal in the evening for redcurrants as Jean had cancelled their planned PYO trip the following day due to a lack thereof. I was a little surprised to find Margaret's bush still well stocked and we took a pound around yesterday - seems like a good deal as we will be getting half of them back in a chocolate cake at the weekend :)

I went gooseberry picking again yesterday afternoon - this time in the hedgerows. Two pounds of red gooseberries - I was a little late with these as many were very ripe and falling off the bush as I was picking and I was having to be careful to avoid wasps. Another pound and a quarter of largish green ones, very small 'white' ones and reddish ones which became a pound after topping/tailing and discarding the scabbier ones. All now squeezed into the freezer.

We are expecting visitors for a long weekend. Gerry and his two kids are over again from Bangkok and should be arriving in Berwick on the overnight coach at 6.30 a.m. on Friday. Paul has volunteered me to fetch them...

Frog A La Peche

Our current freezer cannot cope with the summer fruit crops. I found room for two pound bags of gooseberries but still had four pounds left. I gave a pound to Jean and she has put the remainder in her freezer for me. Roll on getting the utility room finished...

I made the mistake of mentioning that Gordon Ramsay had made a gooseberry and elderflower crumble on The f word a couple of weeks back. 'Oh good' said Jean, 'You can make it and bring it to our barbecue on Wednesday'.

Tuesday was alpine strawberry sorbet day. I used the Joy of Baking recipe - I refuse to call it Jamie Oliver's recipe. I struggled with getting our food processor out of the cupboard and then all the bits from the box. Aha I thought - there is a blender attachment. I piled in a load of strawberries and turned it on. The bottom half a centimetre of strawberries got blitzed but that was about all. I scraped it out into the main bowl and started again, this time with a lot greater success. Made the sugar syrup, mixed it all together and put bowl in the freezer. Back out in the evening into the food processor and re-blitzed. Back into bowl and freezer over night. I repeated the process in the morning and put resulting gloop into a proper freezer container. A very messy process - strawberry puree seems to have a life of its own - but a lot easier than the previous recipe. Haven't tried it yet, and still got strawberries coming out of my ears...

Wednesday - Gooseberry crumble day. I really would have liked to have a practice run before having to present it to Jean - she would have no qualms in telling me if it was not up to scratch...

I wasn't sure how this would work out. For a start he was using fresh gooseberries whilst I had defrosted the two pounds from my freezer. His crumble topping was using equal quantities of flour, butter and sugar. My trusted recipe used 2/1/1 so I compromised - even so it felt like too much butter as I was rubbing it in. He had added hazelnuts to the topping - I didn't have any but I did have a good supply of walnuts...

I was doubling up on quantities from his recipe and decided straight away I was going to have to prepare the gooseberries in two batches - it just would not all fit in the pan. So, preheat a frying pan and heat sugar and orange zest. I have never done this before. I think the first batch I hadn't heated the pan enough and it took an age for the sugar to melt. And then when I added the gooseberries, fresh orange juice and elderflower cordial it formed big lumps. However, when I turned the heat right up it did seem to melt back into the mixture. I was a lot better at this on the second batch. I put all the fruit and syrupy mixture into my new large pie dish.

So we headed over to Jean's, with me balancing the pie dish on my lap, and the crumble in a bowl on the floor of the car. It was all assembled at Jean's. I wasn't sure how long it needed to be cooked for as Gordon Ramsay had divided his into separate small individual dishes. In the end it took about half an hour, as opposed to 10-12 minutes on his recipe - I guess my crumble topping was a lot thicker than his. Luckily it was a success, and the dish was scraped clean...

Today has been raspberry jam day. Morrisons was out of jam sugar yet again when we went shopping yesterday so I bought some pectin and normal sugar. As we headed home it started to rain and did not stop for the rest of the day. This morning was the same until about 11 a.m. when it stopped and the sun broke through. When Paul got back from Duns I went straight out to the wild raspberry stand. An hour and a half and three pounds picked. I could easily have picked as much again. Just over five pounds of jam made after lunch. I think the jam pan can be put away now until the brambles are ready - I am also running out of room in the 'jam cupboard'.

There are only so many things you can do with wild raspberries and alpine strawberries. But maybe I should be more adventurous - there appears to be an abundant supply of toads around at the moment...

We Are Not A Garden Centre...

Part of my daily routine is to check the weather forecast on the BBC website. I don't know why. It is rarely correct and even the 24-hour forecast disagrees with the daily summary, which always seems to take the most pessimistic view possible. It has certainly been a lot hotter than they predicted.

So on Sunday afternoon I had the roof down on the car on the way to Jean's for our postponed trip to the fuchsia nursery. A friend of Jean's had told her she had been disappointed on her visit but we weren't. There was a small tea shop, some tables out the front with fuchsias and a few other plants and in the back a much larger selection of, surprise surprise, fuchsias. The proprietor was quite helpful - Jean is not backward in coming forward and had collared him. We both bought one and then continued on to Edrom nursery.

Edrom nursery used to be in Edrom but is now located on the road out of Coldingham to Coldingham moor. I had my first (of usually half a dozen) cars stopping on Saturday when I was gardening to ask me where it was...

We were like kids in a sweet shop. I stopped myself going too mad as I do not intend to plant up LB7 until next year. I am guessing that many of the problems in the long bank are due to it being planted before the nettles/ground elder were eradicated.

We had both been adding plants to our baskets and were 'just going to have a quick walk around the greenhouse on the other side of the road' when an elderly lady came out the gate and crossed the road towards us. It was not open to the public - so is presumably where they propagate the plants. Just as well as we already had more than we had planned. I ended up buying three different varieties of pulmonaria (the ones I brought up with me seem to absolutely thrive here), an allium (hopefully actually about five in the pot - I will find out at some point) and another dwarf rhododendron. Jean bought a lot more. I will certainly be back next year - for plant lovers it as an absolute dream of a nursery.

We followed her in to the wooden hut to pay. I noticed the gold medal from this year's Gardener's World Live. We got chatting and she has given us both one of the mail order catalogues, where I see they won Best in Show at Harrogate last year. Whilst we were paying a car pulled in with some tourists who asked if it was a garden centre as they wanted to buy a heather. You could hear the disdain in the voice when she replied that 'No it was not' and that the garden centre at East Ord would sell that kind of thing.

I spent yesterday going back over the section of LB7 that I had 'cleared'. The dogs were very well behaved in my absence despite me being late for all their appointments.

So I have now lined the edge with large cobble stones gleaned from the building site, dug over the area with a fork, removing a lot more nettle roots, and started putting in stepping stones at strategic places. (Jean had mentioned some fancy foot-shaped ones at the Kelso show but one thing I do not need to spend money on here is stones). The slate I have been digging out is being pushed back in to make small planting areas and will hopefully keep the bank fairly stable.

I have various splinters in my fingers but only a couple are sore when I knock them, and I seem to have insect bites of varying degrees of itchiness in a variety of places :(

Words of Interest - CHARIDEE

This little gem appears to have been gained in the switch from Chambers to Collins. I should not really have needed to check...

CHARIDEE: charity as pronounced in a mid-Atlantic accent

It is the start of a very slippery slope if we start getting words that are just based on how they are pronounced in certain cases. However, I must admit that I can hear this one ringing loud and clear in my head, and I am cringing as I think of it.

Long Bank 7 - Work In Progress

MIL phoned yesterday for a chat and to see how I was coping without Number One Son. She asked if I had been out gardening. Nope - It's Too Hot - and humid and the flies are driving us mad. But I felt guilty about my lack of toil and decided to do half an hour or so after lunch.

I started at LB6. I got the bigger weeds out and the cosmetic job of picking the visible ground elder out. Then I started clearing the dead leaves from the red hot pokers. Then I could get to some of the nettles and rosebay willlow herb. I really needed to attack it from both sides...

So I started to clear the 'virgin' new bank (will be LB7) that was the weed patch in front of the ex-cowshed. I had sprayed this area several times in May with Round-Up and it had done its job. Enthusiasm for this new task temporarily overtook common sense and before I knew it it was time to take the dogs out.

I was going to stop for the day but it is like an addiction...

I took stock and collected a load more rubbish sacks. The whole area is about ten metres long and varies in width from about three metres down to one at the far end. I decided to start in earnest at the far end - as I measure progress in how many paces have been cleared this is a quicker win scenario. First clear the surface debris - the desiccated weeds and moss, that Round-Up obviously doesn't kill. Then clear the stones, rubble and bits of slate embedded in the bank. Next clear the new weeds that were hiding underneath the old dead ones. Lastly dig out the nettle and cow-parsley roots where found. I stopped around 6 p.m. - hot and 'glowing' as the saying goes.

It is not as humid today and the flies appear to have taken a short break. I have done another hour or so this morning. Five rubbish sacks filled so far...

Jamie Oliver - Plagiarist?

I decided to Google for easier strawberry sorbet recipes. One that doesn't involve whipping up egg whites and gelatine.

So I had read through half a dozen when I got Jamie Oliver's blog. This sounds familiar I thought. I double checked. Word for word the same as the first one I read on the Joy of Baking website...

Extension Part 10

I plucked up the courage to phone Alan yesterday. He told me he would be around today to tidy up ready for a digger arriving on Monday to start on the foundations on the sun room.

He was true to his word. The outline of the sun-room has been re-established and the building materials that were sitting on it have been cleared out of the way.

I have now asked him approximately how long does he think it will take to get it all done. He has said a couple of months. Foundations will be dug on Monday. Steel frame should arrive on Wednesday. Then timber frame should go in and work should be pretty much continuous from then on. The reason for all the delays (no-one had been here for a month) has been the weather and this is the main holiday period. There has only been him and one other working for the last couple of months, trying to keep everyone (or no-one) happy.

I asked if Paul had mentioned the changes we want for the patio and walls. Not specifically but he gave me a brochure to look at to choose materials for the walls and paving. Anyway, I have spent the last hour or so on the website for the brochure noting down the prices of the different materials that I like...

Camera On-Line

It was time to load some software after the raspberry jam was made. But which?

I got the disk out of the box and the booklet that came with it. Four applications to choose from. I couldn't decide. In the end I downloaded two of them just to get an idea of their look and feel. PhotoFunViewer will do almost everything I need. ArcSoft for when I start getting adventurous - the Panorama Maker could be fun. On first glance PFV looks easiest to use - at least it has a fairly comprehensive help function.

I was a little concerned when I first tried to download my test photographs using PFV - it was quite slow compared to my old software. I reread the help for both the camera and software - all was as should be and I tried again. Bingo!

I think the problem on first use was that it was trying to display all the folders I currently had in my Pictures directory - and there are a lot. Now I have successfully downloaded for the first time it has created a PFStudio folder, and now just loads that folder up on startup...

Not perfect photo of poppy in the high bank but my favourite of the test photographs (using zoom and auto Intelligence/macro) - the wind was blowing it around a lot so top not quite in shot. More practice needed...

And the Latest Flavour Is...

So, after picking 9 lbs of gooseberries yesterday it was jam making day today. But not gooseberry...

The dog walk this morning took me past the wild raspberry stands I have been keeping an eye on, and after two days of sunshine, lollipops and rainbows there now appeared to be enough ripened to make it worth a trip to pick them. I was not wrong. I filled two punnets from just the first stand despite eating quite of few of the squishier ones. I think wild raspberries are the best tasting fruit in the world. I decided to leave the other patch for the birds, at least until the next time I think it may be worth the effort - which may be sooner than I expected.

Two pounds when I weighed my booty. Into the jam pan this afternoon, gooseberries ousted.

Words cannot express how good it tastes... definitely the best one yet.

My New Toy

My camera turned up early - yesterday afternoon. Luckily I was in.

Fought my way in to the rather large UPS box to retrieve much smaller camera box.

Checked all the bits it said I should have were there.

Attached camera strap.

Attached lens cap.

Set battery charging - 2 hours to fully charge.

Downloaded PDF user guide. Started reading. Decided there was no way I was going to work my way through the 173 pages, so just looked at the basics to get started.

Loaded charged battery and memory card.

Switched it on.

Set clock and time.

Took a photo of Jen to check date/time working.

Switched it off.

Made some more strawberry jam...

Took it over to Jean's this morning after she invited me over for coffee to try out the 'scenery' mode on the views from her back garden across the rolling Berwickshire countryside. Also tested out the macro function on her roses and clematises - really pleased with this.

After picking my gooseberries (a mega nine pounds this year) spent the rest of the afternoon skimming the manual and trying to work out what all the buttons and menu options are. Gave up again. I think I need to be more organised - determine the things I will want to do and get confident with those before blowing my mind with all the stuff it can do but I will probably never use.

Still need to download the software so no photos on the blog yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Talking of manana, still no sign of the builders...

Cows Found and Other Things

The cows have been found. They had made it all the way to a field in West Blanerne.

Redcurrant jelly has been made. It was almost a disaster. I was not convinced after pouring the first couple of ladlefuls that it had actually reached the setting point - normally the last few drops of the ladle go all gloopy but this didn't appear to be the case. I decided to pour it back into the pan and boil it up for another couple of minutes. The plan went awry when I dropped the jar into the pan. Panic. Took it off the heat, and with a spoon uprighted the jar so I could then pull it out with the aid of a tea towel. Anyway, I eventually ended up with about five pounds. Still not convinced yet that it will set, but signs are hopeful as the dregs in the jam pan have. Everything has been washed up ready for another batch of strawberries this evening as this is proving popular not only at home but with Margaret. Anne and Janet have also both been given a jar.

Sheila (solicitor) from up the road has photocopied and certified that I am who my driving licence says I am. Hopefully I can now open my savings account.

Camera is on its way. I can track the UPS shipment. It started in Los Angeles. Then went to Long Beach CA, Louiseville KY, Philadelphia PA, East Midlands Airport for the weekend, and arrived in Edinburgh this morning. Should make the one hour journey to here sometime tomorrow.

But still no sign of the builders...

Runaway Cows

It was the Edrom route for the dog walk today. As we headed off on the short-cut across our building site I noticed a big cowpat a pace in from the edge of the lawn. This may explain me being woken up at around 3 a.m. by the dogs barking...

Another one just before the road.

And two more on the road/verge on the other side.

No more were spotted on the walk.

The full quota of cows (three) were still happily munching away in Margaret's closest field.

When we got back and the dogs were fed and watered I wandered around to Margaret's with two punnets to pick some of her redcurrants. She was not in. Aha - probably out looking for cows again. She seems to have been very unlucky this year with escapees. So I just got down to the picking.

A while later Ian drove up with Margaret in the car. Shortly afterwards Ian went back past in his car, followed by Margaret in hers. About ten minutes later they were both back and I could hear them by the gate to the track to the river.

I had filled both the punnets by now so went to find out what was happening. My powers of detection had been right. I told them I had seen no evidence of them on the road to Edrom. Luckily I could also see no evidence of them on our lawn...

Alone Again...

I drove Paul to the railway station yesterday afternoon. There is some dispute as to how long he is away. We are not in disagreement on the date of his return, just whether twelve days and a few hours is 'just over a week' (Paul) or nearly two weeks (me).

So I am now settling in to life with the dogs.

Paul always accuses me of picking the evenings it is raining to have a bath and miss the late night outing. Well, there was no avoiding it last night... come 11 p.m. and I could hear the rain pelting down outside. I got their coats and mine on. As expected Jen didn't care but I had to drag Poncho out the door. He was digging his paws in all the way to the road, then shuffling along in a state of misery refusing to do anything. We returned, drenched and unsuccessful.

At least the sound of the rain drowned out the noise of the bats in the eaves - at least I hope it is bats. They seem to be getting noisier and noisier, with their chittering. I may find them entrancing flying around outside but they are becoming a pain in the **** when I am trying to get to sleep. I am now imagining them as I lie awake in the dark flying around inside the loft, thousands of them. And then breaking out into our en-suite like something from a Stephen King novel...

I still have not got my new camera, although the extra memory for it (from somewhere else) arrived after a couple of days. I sent an email off on Wednesday to find out what was happening. I got a reply in the evening saying they had none currently in stock but were expecting a delivery in the coming week. I got another email last night telling me "Your order has been reviewed and processed and the warehouse is preparing the shipment". So, what would have happened if I'd paid for the express delivery? Or does this mean that someone else did and has got MY camera???

I got a letter today from new building society that I am trying to give some of my money to, telling me the proof of identity I sent was not adequate. So I wasted several hours today
(a) trying to find a suitable document from the Inland Revenue (P2 that was sent was not acceptable) or DVLC to avoid the need for a certified copy of my passport or driving license. I found a VLA from 2006 but apparently they will only accept the latest one.
(b) Failing (a) I then failed to get our Lexmark printer/scanner/photocopier to photocopy. I tracked down via Google that the laptop needed to be plugged in even to just photocopy but it made absolutely no difference.
It's all very well in these times of banks in trouble/credit crunch in trying to spread your assets around but it is not that easy!

Extension Part 9a

Well, it has been three and a half weeks since my last post on the extension.
Paul phoned the builder when he got back from Pau and was told he would be around on the following Tuesday.
The Tuesday came and went.
We got an email at the start of this week saying he would be here yesterday.
Still no-one has come.
The weeds are taking over again and the painted outline of the sun room is being washed away...

Timber!

Having looked at the weather forecast I got out in the garden yesterday - it had predicted a deterioration as the week went on and with Paul off again on Thursday I needed to get some jobs done.

Job 1: Tie the tall perennials in the trellis bed back to the trellis as the wind had caused havoc over the last week. It does look a lot tidier now, although the chrysanthemums, which must be over four feet tall look a little strange, all hugging together and pointing the wrong way but hopefully they will sort themselves out.

Job 2: Cut back the lupins. Some had been attacked by the dreaded lupin bugs earlier, and although I had got the first wave under control they returned a couple of weeks later and in a few days had caused a lot of damage. Mysteriously they have all disappeared now.

Job 3: Start the weeding/cutting back of aquilegias on the long bank - got most of the rockery and LB2 done.

It was very hot and the flies were out again. A lot of cursing and waving of arms...

When I cleared back the vetch I found even more wild strawberries - most of the bottom of LB2 and still spreading. I went back out in the early evening and picked another pound. I made another batch of jam in the evening. It was almost disaster last week when Morrisons had sold out of jam sugar, but I found one unopened bag and a half-used bag tucked away at the back of a cupboard. I will need more though - the gooseberries feel as if they will be ready quite soon now.

I went back out in the garden after lunch today. It was a lot cooler and the wind was up so no flies - hurrah!

I had seen on Gardener's World that now is the time to collect and sow primrose seed. However, in my garden there was no need to go to all that trouble - I had spotted a small patch of self-sown seedlings. I dug out the clump, separated them and have replanted them - must have got a couple of dozen of varying sizes.

Whilst I was doing this Paul wandered past with the dogs. The next thing I know I hear a loud crack and see one of the overhead electricity cables is bouncing. I downed tools and headed towards the hill. A tractor was coming down it, Paul and dogs standing to one side and a tree was half-way across the road. The tractor and a following car drove around it and on towards the bridge.

I assumed the tractor must have hit it, but no - it had just cracked and fallen of its own accord just before the tractor reached it.

Paul phoned Margaret - we weren't sure who owned the land/tree but Margaret seemed the likely candidate and if not would know who did. She popped straight down with Clive, who luckily just happened to be there.

Clive went to get a tractor.

I went back to my primroses.

None of this road closed for x hours rubbish that you get in suburbia.

Have tractor, will travel...

BEST Group Final - Scotland

I played the BEST group final (Scotland) against Neil Scott at his parents house yesterday.

I set off at 8.30 am and found that my sat-nav was sulking - it was refusing to talk to me. I stopped a couple of times to try to sort it out but to no avail. Luckily the screen was behaving so I only missed the turn into the road at the end and soon discovered my mistake. I was just checking the house number before I knocked on a total strangers door when suddenly it started telling me to 'TURN LEFT'. As I was parked right outside the correct house I switched it off...

For once I won the draw a tile to see who starts. And that appeared to be a big mistake...
I asked Neil if he wanted 5-point penalties. He declined :)

Game 1: 0-1
329 (12) DROPLeT (70)
406 (12) sWAMPED (86), Q(A)DI (72)
My big 'mistake' in this game was a neatly slotted play of EVEJAR for 43 to take a small lead. The only danger was QADI, but with only one I and D left unseen I took the chance...

Game 2: 0-2
402 (11) LI(B)ELING (72), CORDIAl (71)
476 (12) (D)ENUDING (89), TETANIES (62)
I missed CARDIOi(D) which would have taken Neil's spot for (D)ENUDING. At the end I needed to try a bonus to win with AILPRST, I opted for PLAISTR(Y)*. There was nothing.

Game 3: 0-3
394 (13) M(U)NIFIEs (74)
452 (12) OXO (53), POURIEs (75), GREASIE(R) (60)
I had to change on my starting move - no vowels...

We stopped for lunch. Neil couldn't believe he was 3-0 up. My head was spinning.

Game 4: 0-4
390 (11) TATtOOE(R)
400 (12) VIOLERS (73), ARCSINE (82)
Neil changed on his opening move. I thought at last I was going to get on the score sheet here, but Neil made a second opening leaving one in the bag. With ACEIINRS left unseen I could see the writing on the wall.

As Neil said his winning spread was coming down...

Game 5: 1-4
471 (12) BALOnEY (78), ELUTION (65), (M)ISRULED (86)
344 (12) bARRELS (69)
Neil had just blown an S. I could see no other bonus than BALOnEY (there is none), stopping one short of the triple column. Luckily he could just take the triple with YANGS. With DEILRSU I could see nothing when Neil gave me the M. Neil's rack after that move was DEILRSU!

Game 6: 2-4
403 (11) UREMiAs (94), (R)ETAINED (72)
398 (11) WHINGER (82), ZOOTY (51)
I had ALOXR?? on my opening rack but decided to not play the bonus I saw - eXORd(I)AL - as it would allow an easy 40+ response from Neil. I missed the 4x pROX(I)mAL which I should have played. It worked out as Neil's WHINGER set up UREMiAs on the triple. Things were not looking goo approaching the endgame. I was 17 behind after a neat UNDAMS for 46 from Neil. I was holding an unplayable CURLIES with two in the bag (AEGIOQSTV). I decided to gamble on a two move playout, playing CURSI at M1 across. I picked AE from the bag...

Game 7: 3-4
442 (13) GARNeTS (68), cR(A)MPING (74)
381 (12) S(C)HEMATA (66), REX (57), (R)ENAILED (72)
This game was a lot closer than the score suggests. Neil tried ROAD(R)ACE on his second move, but after that pegged back a 120 point deficit. RENAILED gave him a 14 point lead s he picked TIGER as the last 5 tiles from the bag. Luckily for me there was nowhere to play it and he tried GREIT...

Game 8: 4-4
439 (12) DI(L)UTIOn (82), (S)UBORNER (70), (G)AIEtIES (74)
304 (12)
Lucky here that Neil gave me the L for DI(L)UTIOn when I had been trying to decide what to dump. After (S)UBORNER I picked EEIIIS? and changed EII. Had not been too impressed with my replacement tiles of AIE - AIErIES did not play and then I noticed the G.

I was feeling a lot calmer now. Neil was going the other way...

Game 9: 5-4
434 (14) SIZEL (54), fOETIDE(ST) (70)
390 (13) TO(E)NAILS (62), GOLD(E)NER (62)
This game started slowly, both of us overloaded with vowels. I was pleased with my spot of fOETIDE(ST) on a blocked board.

A break for tea.

Game 10: 6-4
436 (12) SHALIER (95), JEON (58), BAPtISE (81)
370 (12) ELuTORS (82)
SHALIER on move 5 followed immediately by JEON gave me a 100 point cushion but I was not counting my chickens. BAPtISE on move 8 from H13 down - he needed to hook it straight away as I was ready with CREW. He did with ELuTORS, but I was so relieved to see the last unseen S and blank go together (I had the remaining S on my rack), and only three unseen vowels left in the bag.

I think we were both nervous wrecks throughout the day. It was tough on Neil to lose the way he did. I think we would have both been happier with a more nip-and-tuck match in terms of the sequence of the game results.

The draw for the quarter-finals takes place at the start of August. I am hoping to get one of the North of England region winners...

Just For Henry

I tried it today - it tastes fine.
Another 3/4 pound picked today. I need some more recipe ideas...

Wild Strawberry Sorbet

I picked another pound of my wild strawberries yesterday and decided to have a go at making sorbet. I had a recipe in my Marguerite Patten cookery book.

A quick trip into Duns this morning as it said I needed gelatine, which I found at the Co-op. I also nipped into Youngmans and came out loaded with two Mason Cash pie dishes (30 oz and 60 oz) - getting ready for the gooseberry harvest, an egg poacher (one that you hang over the side of your saucepan) and some pastry cutters. I had been looking on the web for these items but had been totally unsuccessful finding one site that sold them all, and therefore the postage would make them far too expensive.

After lunch I started on the sorbet.

Stew the strawberries slowly in half a pint of water.
Press through a sieve - this took longer than anticipated so the puree was not very hot when I finished so I heated it up again...
Add 3 oz sugar and one teaspoon of gelatine to hot puree (see above) and stir until dissolved.
Transfer to container and place in freezer.

Stiffly beat two or three egg whites.
I discovered I was not very good at separating the yolks, so three eggs resulted in two egg whites and an omelette mix for tea tonight, but they were large eggs and all I had. Paul then informed me we have an egg separator gadget somewhere... Much beating of eggs took place, Paul and I taking turns as we were just using a hand whisk (hint: one of those electric whisk/blitzer gadgets might be useful). Eventually they formed quite a satisfying voluminous white frothy texture - not quite up to meringue standard but not bad.

When the puree mixture begins to stiffen (this took quite a long time and I may still have been premature) fold into the egg whites and return to the freezer.

Well, time will tell if it works, but it does look a very pretty pink colour and has cost virtually nothing.

FreeCycle Strikes Again

Hi Everone, my mum who is 78 has been complaining that she can't see
the faces of people on her tv - think it's about 20". As she's a
Pensioner I thought I'd ask if anyone has one they'd like to donate.
Perhaps you've upgraded to a massive flat screen recently? I think
ideally she'd like a 30" or so. My daughter lives in Kelso so she
could collect it for me if it's nearer to her. Thanks in advance.

Deran

I suggest a pair of spectacles...

This person also asked for a computer for his daughter so he didn't have to lend her his laptop...

Also earlier this week we had one starting on about learning the piano. They can't be, I thought and no they weren't. There followed a request for sheet music.

But this obviously got someone to thinking. The next day there was indeed a request for a piano - don't think it was the same person.

I am now determining what I should ask for...

Panasonic DMC-FZ18somethingorother

When I got my new laptop I discovered that Vista did not really support my camera software. I managed to sort of reinstal it and it sort of works when it feels like it. I need to 'run as administrator' and say 'yes' I really do want to run it! Then I get a load of error messages which I have to close down. Then sometimes it recognises that I have attached my camera and sometimes it doesn't. In the latter cases I have to shut down my laptop and start again. The latest pain is that when I get as far as 'photos on camera' window it doesn't actually show me the photos. I have to minimise and then reselect the window and the photos are displayed. It then doesn't highlight the ones I select to dowload unless I repeat the minimise/maximise routine...

The camera itself is fine. I bought it from work at about a third of the RRP in a staff sale and at the time it was top of the range - Canon PowerShot S30, 3.1 megapixels and 10x zoom. Now it is so last century. The time has come to upgrade. Watch out for it on FreeCycle in the near future - should be fine with older PCs/laptops...

So I spent last night surfing the net. I quickly decided on a panasonic. I got snared with an 18x optical zoom with 8.1 megapixels. Then I started looking at all the different sites promising me the best prices available anywhere. Then I got very confused.

Panasonic DMC-FZ18 black, silver, DMC-FZ18S, DMC-FM18K, DMC-FX18EBK... All at slightly different prices, with very similar but not quite the same descriptions. I noted a few of the sites and gave up for the night.

I dropped the bombshell on Paul when he got back from the bridge club. I didn't think it was a bombshell - I have been saying for ages that I want a new camera. He never picks up on hints for birthdays/Christmas either. He says I never tell him or drop hints!!!

So I resumed my investigation today. I decided to look on panasonic's own website. But it was down, being updated. Eventually it came back up. I think all those variations on the name actually boil down to one camera in a choice of silver or black.

Armed with this I went back to investigating prices. It was stunning the differences in price - Tesco Direct being the most expensive I found at a shocking £349.97 down to £194.00 at Bestpricedbrands including P&P. I placed an order. It should arrive next week...

Action-Packed Day at Todheugh

Another first of country living for us today. Scottish Water came this morning to empty the sewerage tank. It is located under our rose bed, and seemed fairly straight forward. Apparently the only real problem was a request for next time to do it after we have pruned the roses.

Partly because of the sewerage tank being emptied and partly because I overslept we reverted back to a later dog walk. I had got them ready and we went out to wait for the SW man to finish. As we were waiting a Scottish Local lorry came by - road sweeping the edge yet again. Then another smaller SB van passed by.

As we set out for the walk we could see the van parked down the track by the bridge. The lorry was coming back. We waited. It stopped. We carried on. The van went across the bridge, reversed off the road and stopped. At this point Jen dived into undergrowth, and despite having her muzzle on emerged with yet another mole. She gave it a good shaking and then dropped it. I managed to pull her away, and it made a shaky exit to the verge on the other side of the road. We continued on our walk.

When we came back there was a temporary road sign on the far side of the bridge with a 20 mph limit and 'beware of skidding', shortly followed by a 'mobile roadworks' sign. Another 'beware of skidding' one on the other side. Jen had obviously remembered the mole and suddenly pulled towards where it had last been seen. I stopped her and could not see it so it may well have survived its ordeal.

We then went food shopping - one of life's necessities but it is so much more civilised being able to avoid the weekend. When we got home there was a council worker at the bottom of the hill trying to stop us taking the road towards Edrom. As we only needed to go about 20 yards he apologised and let us through.

They appear to be doing something to the road in front of the long bank...I'm off to look.
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wibblywobbly lines as time passes
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It was like something out of Thunderbirds...Mobile roadworks was a perfect description. They have completely relayed the road surface from as far as I can see up past Margaret's and the last I saw they were heading towards the bridge.

Lorry at the front laying tar.

Lorry behind with conveyor-belt putting gravel on top of the tar.




Lorry behind loading gravel into conveyor-belt lorry.



Vehicle (no idea what it is called - a non-steam steam-roller) behind just driving up and down bedding down the new road surface.

And this is on top (literally) of all the road repairs they did at the end of May...

Bats at Todheugh

The bats are back. The first summer we were here we noticed them at this time of year. Last year less so because of the weather washout.

For the last few weeks when the weather has been warm/dry we have been bat-watching on our late night outings with the dogs. I have no idea what kind they are but they seem a reasonable size - it is hard to tell when all you really see is a black shape darting around. Saying that, I would still have no idea if one freeze-framed in front of me in broad daylight.

This year they seem numerous. One night a couple of weeks back I counted one going past the bedroom window every two to three seconds. Last night the sky seemed filled with them, so agile as they swoop and turn, flying just over our heads. The dogs seem unaware of them - they do not react at all.

I think they may well be roosting in the roof at the back of our bedroom. The hints are that it is that end of the house that we see them and there have been a lot of scratchy/squeaky noises at night since we have been spotting them.

I ventured into our loft earlier to try to see. I gave up as the slope of the roof was making it too difficult for me to pull back the insulation to get a good view. I had a brief moment of 'what am I doing up here' as I tried to work out how to get out again. After a few minutes of manoeuvring I managed to lower myself and stretch down to a solid footing.

For information on UK and Scottish bats see the Bat Conservation Trust

Suanne Superstar

I have been well and truly deposed as the top internationally-rated female scrabble player.

Suanne Ong from Malaysia, who finished half a win and a place ahead of me in the 2007 world championships, became the first female, first Malaysian and youngest ever (16) to win the King's Cup in Bangkok last week.

A superb performance, finishing first on 20 wins out of 27 games and earning a place in the best of three final against the current world champion, Nigel Richards. I was told that she walked it, winning the first two games.

Her rating has leapt from 1939 to 2034, propelling her into 11th place. I am languishing on 1988, 46th. I should hate her but she is too nice :)

Malaysian scrabble also boasts the top rated player in the world, Ganesh Asirvatham, and is also where Nigel lives. Maybe I should emigrate...

Wild Strawberry Jam

So I was out dodging the drizzle - well, actually not dodging the drizzle this morning - picking my alpine strawberries. After having to eat the overripe ones I ended up with two pounds...

I searched the web unsuccessfully for a recipe and in the end decided to just treat them as 'normal' strawberries - equal quantities of sugar to fruit.

Wash/dry strawberries and place in jam pan with no extra water. Heat gently, stirring until they started to go mushy. Add the sugar and stir until all dissolved. Add juice of one lemon. Bring to the boil with no stirring. It reached the setting point after about five minutes. Take off the heat. Remove scum. Leave until begins to thicken in the pan. Stir to distribute fruit more evenly within the jam. Pot up.

It is an absolutely gorgeous colour and has given a really good yield. The pan scrapings tasted rather good too...

Poncho the Hunter

Poncho is obviously feeling his caninity in question after Jen's recent exploits.

Not to be outdone earlier this week he dived into the undergrowth by the bridge and came out with...a Scotch pie wrapped in clingfilm.

Hedgerow Review

It is interesting how the hedgerows vary from year to year. I certainly notice a lot more with dog walking each day.

Last year was a yellow year, with the buttercups and dandelions being the predominant 'wild flowers' in the verges right through, complemented with the fields of rape. With the continuous rain and bad weather it was not a good year for most of the hedgerow harvest. The one true exception to this was the sloes.

This year it is a white year. Those designers at the Chelsea flower show must have known something. After an early showing by the dandelions the carrot family has definitely taken over around here. Cow parsleys abound and despite a good spraying campaign there are still some giant hogweeds that escaped the massacre - at least half a dozen are standing tall and flowering in Margaret's (Poncho's) hay field. The may was late, more like may/june this year. Now the elders have taken over, putting on a magnificent display. Add to that the brambles and dog roses (although some of these are pale pink), which did not fare so well last year but are now covered in flowers.

Crab Apples - does not look as if there will be a good supply this year. The weather was not good when they were blossoming and the few fruits I can see are fairly high up in the trees.
Wild Cherries - not loaded but a lot better than the crab apples
Wild Raspberries - the large stand where we picked some last year looks as if there will be a lot more this time round.
Blackberries/Rose Hips/Elderberries - if the flowers are anything to go by I predict a bumper crop of all of these, as long as we do not get a prolonged period of bad weather now. Last year was very disappointing for all of these.
Haws - a bad year.
Sloes - no idea as I haven't been to my secret supply for a while to look. I would guess not good if the hawthorn is anything to go by. Luckily I still have a good supply in the freezer.

Fragaria vesca 'Semperflorens'

When I inherited the garden there were a few alpine strawberry plants in the high bank, long bank and growing in the bank at the side of the drive. They are good ground cover and the strawberries, albeit small, have so much flavour.

Over the last couple of years they have spread, taking over larger and larger areas. They are all along the bottom of the high bank now - easy to pick there. Another patch at the back of the buddleia in the long bank, and a couple of patches in LB2, top and bottom. The ones in the drive bank are now working their way into the trellis bed, having completely colonised the area by the sheds. I need to dig out some more footholds - not easy to pick there. There is even a large patch on the drive itself, having sent the tendrils out from LB2. There are a lot worse garden thugs...I will not easily forget the creeping buttercups that had a stranglehold when we first moved up here.

I started cropping them a couple of weeks ago, getting a good handful every day. I also pick/eat a few most times I walk past the high bank.

They have obviously enjoyed our recent weather of rain and hot, if not always sunny, days. I have just got in from picking them after a couple of missed days and have filled a punnet - over a pound in weight - and it looks as if I will get almost as many again in another day or two. I am hoping they will survive in the fridge until then so that I can get enough to try to make alpine strawberry jam.

Lost Dog Reunited with Owner

I just had to beat Huttonian to this scoop. Dogs AND FreeCycle. No doubt it will make the Berwickshire News next week...

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Hi, (moderator hope this is ok)

A large tri colour hound type dog wearing a collar has been handed into
the BARK kennels Thursday Morning. We understand he was seen running
around Chirnside last night. He was picked up on the Chirnside Duns
Road near Briery Mill.

Please contact BARK if you have any information on 01289 306299

~~~

Thanks to Freecycle within minutes of posting a reply led to the owner
contacting the kennels.

Thank you on everyone's behalf

Words of Interest - BERDASH

I have just cleared my cardbox - 227 alphagrams before I got to the point of none waiting.

Up comes ABDEHRS and I quickly get the two answers and glance at the definitions.

BERDASH - an American Indian transvestite.

This needed to be investigated further. On checking in the dictionary: usually male, adopting not only the dress but also the status and role of the opposite sex. It can also be spelt BERDACHE. It is not to be confused with BURDASH, which is/was a fringed sash worn by gentlemen in the time of Anne and George I.